Heart and Soul Animal Sanctuary

The Heart and Soul Animal Sanctuary serves a region of desperate need. Northern New Mexico has a long history of neglect, ill-treatment and heedless overpopulation of animals. Many of the dogs and cats who come to us have been dumped in trash cans, dropped into roadside ditches or left at gas stations to fend for themselves.

This is Jasmine just after she was rescued from an abusive owner in Espanola. Today Jasmine is a happy California girl who loves to go to the beach.

Often we are brought a starved, terrified, very young mother dog like Shanti, exhausted from trying to nurse a litter of dehydrated puppies.

Gabriel, Before and After

But home-cooked, nutritious meals, the best medical care and plenty of love can work wonders. Little Gabriel was rescued from a shelter only minutes before his time was up. He wasn't much to look at then; now he's a beautiful, happy boy.

Adopting an animal who's been abandoned or abused isn't always easy. But the dogs and cats who live at The Heart and Soul Animal Sanctuary are well socialized. They get a lot of attention. They're petted, played with, hugged, loved. They also learn to live in harmony with other animals. This can make them much more adoptable than rescued dogs and cats kept in cages and concrete cells.

Because we live with our animals, we come to know them well. This helps us find just the right family for each dog and cat who's ready to be adopted.

Pet Adoption

And families who come to the Sanctuary to adopt can see for themselves how the animals behave and interact. Above is our wonderful sweet boy Joey, a most unusual husky-corgi mix, with his new parents Noel and Teresa.

Over the years, thousands of school-age children have visited the Sanctuary. In our humane education classes they get hands-on experience with the animals. They hold the puppies, feed the chickens, feel the warm, nubbly back of a turkey's head. Along the way, they learn important lessons about unconditional love, honesty, trust, loyalty and responsibility.

Lily Meets Starbright

Now, with the help of our new Humane Education Coordinator, we'll be expanding this program to reach more children in more schools. And new lesson plans will encourage children to understand and empathize with other creatures -- to imagine what it's like to be a dog or a cat, a donkey, chicken, goat, goose or turkey.

We have discovered what a wonderful experience it is for our dogs to visit older people in nursing homes. The dogs lick their faces, rub their furry warm bodies against them and make them smile, sometimes their first smile in months.

Dorothy Finds Unconditional Love